The measuring and monitoring of substances in and the physical attributes of certain bodily fluids is an important and sometimes necessary procedure in the medical field. For instance, the monitoring of blood sugar (e.g. glucose), glycated proteins, and other diabetes markers, can be essential in the prevention of diabetes-related end-organ complications in diabetics. Self-monitoring of such blood sugar levels has become relatively common and has necessarily reduced diabetic patients' dependence on medical professionals. However, such self-monitoring requires invasive, painful and tedious tasks, such as the lancing of the skin to obtain a blood specimen with an apparatus that must be kept sterile, and constantly carried by the individual. Thus, even patients having extreme types of diabetes (e.g., Type 1 Diabetes) often fail to monitor their blood glucose levels on a regular basis.
Inconsistent or absent blood glucose management in diabetic patients is estimated to cause billions of dollars in excess health care costs each year. It has thus prompted the development of certain technologies that aid patients in better monitoring their bodies markers for diabetic disease. For example, various devices and techniques have been developed, which are of a less invasive nature, for obtaining and/or measuring a specimen. Even these minimally invasive methods and devices have drawbacks. It has been reported by the American Diabetes Foundation that frequent testing with trend analysis is the single most valuable tool for maintaining good control and avoiding long-term complications of diabetes. However, many of these devices do not automatically record and track glucose levels on a regular time basis (e.g., minute by minute). Rather, these devices require some type of action on the part of the patient, and thus do not guarantee regular monitoring. Intermittent measurement of blood glucose fails to identify important peaks, valleys and trends that a continuous monitor could track in order to help predict impending hypoglycemic events, and facilitate improved metabolic control. As such, proposed devices and techniques may be ill-suited for optimal monitoring of glucose levels in diabetic patients.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,460 (“the '460 patent”) teaches the utilization of a contact device placed on the front part of the eyelid in order to detect physical and chemical parameters of the body as well as the non-invasive delivery of compounds according to these physical and chemical parameters, with signals preferably being transmitted continuously as electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared and the like. The system utilizes eyelid motion and/or closure of the eye lid to activate a microminiature radio frequency sensitive transensor mounted in the contact device. The '460 patent teaches that the contact device remains in contact with the conjunctiva of the eye.